Premier League storylines to watch out for: Gameweek 19
By Tom Gott
The Premier League is back for another round of action, 24 hours after the previous gameweek came to an end.
We're up to round 19, which features standout fixtures like Chelsea vs Manchester City and Arsenal vs Newcastle, while there are also plenty of massive fixtures down at the bottom of the table as well. Something for everyone, really.
Here are ten storylines to watch out for this time around.
1. A debut for Gakpo?
All eyes are on whether Liverpool can finalise the paperwork for new signing Cody Gakpo, who could make his debut against Brentford if all goes to plan.
Jurgen Klopp has already played down the idea of seeing the Dutchman on Monday evening, but given Liverpool won't have Wout Faes to do all their goalscoring against the Bees, they might need a boost from their winter signing.
Brentford are sweating over the involvement of their own forward, with Ivan Toney's injury thought to be small enough to leave him in with a chance of featuring.
2. Arsenal's true test begins
Premier League leaders Arsenal are flying at the minute but have a really tough start to 2023, beginning with this meeting with high-flying Newcastle on Tuesday.
The Gunners' have Tottenham and Manchester United to come after that, with Manchester City on the schedule for February too. If they want to be seen as title contenders, now is the time to prove it.
Newcastle are also looking to make a statement with their own response after a sloppy draw against Leeds last time out.
3. The Brighton shop window is open
Brighton will have earned themselves plenty of new supporters thanks to the exploits of their players at the World Cup, but a lot of the new eyes will belong to rival scouts as well.
Moises Caicedo is back in action after serving a one-match ban, while Alexis Mac Allister is finished celebrating his Qatar triumph and might even squeeze into a place on the bench against Everton if he's fit enough to feature in some capacity.
The dilemma for Roberto De Zerbi is that big performances from his top players will only ramp up the interest, and the pressure that comes with that.
4. Opposite ends of the form table
Fulham are looking to make it three wins on the bounce on Tuesday when they travel to face a Leicester side looking to not make it three losses on the bounce.
In the Foxes' defence, their last two games have come against Newcastle and Liverpool but there'll be no breathers afforded to them by a Fulham side who are forcing their way into the conversation for European qualification this season.
Two ends of the form table, but which side will come out on top?
5. Marcus Rashford vs his alarm clock
Marcus Rashford is in the form of his life right now, but the same cannot be said for his alarm clock, which kept him in bed until it was too late at the weekend and cost him a spot in Manchester United's starting lineup.
It appears as though all is forgiven between Rashford and Erik ten Hag and the England international will likely be the first player to report to Old Trafford as they prepare to take on a struggling Bournemouth side.
The Cherries fell to Crystal Palace last time out and are in danger of losing their eighth game in their last ten outings.
6. The relegation six-pointer
It's an overused cliché but Southampton vs Nottingham Forest could hardly be more important for either side.
The Saints have been bad all season and are still waiting for the new manager bounce that was supposed to follow the arrival of Nathan Jones in the dugout. They're glued to the bottom of the table but Southampton could actually climb out of the relegation zone if they can beat Forest on Wednesday.
Forest moved up to 18th as they roared to a 1-1 draw with Chelsea but these are the games they need to be picking up points in if they are to survive in the Premier League.
7. The bottom half six-pointer
West Ham and Leeds are both outside the drop zone heading into this round of fixtures but either side could tumble down if results go against them.
The pressure on David Moyes is mounting with each passing week as West Ham continue to fall down the table, and things could reach an unsustainable level if they fall to a Leeds side who picked up a massive point against Newcastle.
Jesse Marsch's side have survived a tough trio of fixtures and will be relishing the chance to bag some much-needed points once again.
8. Battle of the new bosses
Spaniards Julen Lopetegui and Unai Emery will butt heads for the first time in England when Wolves travel to face Aston Villa.
Meetings between these two managers haven't yielded too many goals recently. Emery's Villarreal drew 1-1 with Lopetegui's Sevilla in September, replicating the same result from a few months earlier as well.
Lopetegui does have the superior track record, but whether that bodes well for Wolves remains to be seen.
9. Can Spurs stop the slump?
Things are getting a bit dire for Tottenham. Chants of 'Daniel Levy, get out of our club' were ringing around the ground as Spurs slumped to a 2-0 defeat against Aston Villa at the weekend, and things will only get worse if they fail to beat Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
Palace ended a three-game losing streak with victory over Bournemouth but, with all due respect, are the sort of team Spurs should be beating - which also makes them the sort of team Spurs haven't been beating.
Antonio Conte needs to find a way to put things right, and quickly.
10. Haaland to give Chelsea a taste of what could have been
Chelsea had Erling Haaland very high on their wish list when they were looking for a new striker, but they opted for Romelu Lukaku instead... and things have been going downhill for the Blues ever since.
Haaland ended up joining Manchester City one year later and has already scored 21 Premier League goals - Chelsea have 20 as a whole this season - and the Norway international will be licking his lips at the chance of coming up against Graham Potter's tactically lost bunch of Blues.
City cannot afford another slip-up if they are to catch up with Arsenal but, on current form, they might not have much to worry about here.
